Sunday, April 8, 2012

Quick Hits - April 8, 2012 - Happy Easter!

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.Matthew 28:1-10

At least 38 people were killed in the blast, said Abubakar Zakari Adamu, a spokesman for the Kaduna state Emergency Management Agency. Others suffered serious injuries and were receiving treatment at local hospitals, Adamu said.

The explosion badly damaged the nearby All Nations Christian Assembly Church as churchgoers worshipped at an Easter service, the possible target of the bomber. Witnesses said it appeared the explosive-laden car attempted to go into the compound of that church before it detonated.

"We were in the holy communion service and I was exhorting my people and all of a sudden, we heard a loud noise that shattered all our windows and doors, destroyed our fans and some of our equipment in the church," Pastor Joshua Raji said.

Another witness, Augustine Vincent, said he was riding a motorcycle just behind the car when it exploded.

"God saw our heart and saved us," he said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though suspicion immediately fell on a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram.

Boko Haram also attacked Christians on Christmas Day 2011 - and has claimed responsibility for killing hundreds in Nigeria over the last several years.

"May the risen Christ grant hope to the Middle East and enable all the ethnic, cultural and religious groups in that region to work together to advance the common good and respect for human rights," the pope said in his "Urbi et Orbi" ("To the City and to the World") message in St. Peter's Square.

"Particularly in Syria, may there be an end to bloodshed and an immediate commitment to the path of respect, dialogue and reconciliation, as called for by the international community, he said. "May the many refugees from that country who are in need of humanitarian assistance find the acceptance and solidarity capable of relieving their dreadful sufferings."

Unfortunately, the United Nations sponsored peace plan for Syria is appearing to collapse just days before it is to take effect. The Assad regime has added a new 11th hour demand for rebel organizations to provide 'written guarantees' to lay down their weapons before regime military units will cease their attacks on civilian areas supportive of the rebels and withdraw to their military bases. The main rebel organization opposing the Assad dictatorship quickly rejected the demand.

Violence is continuing throughout much of Syria as heavy weapons, including artillery and tanks, continue to hammer civilian areas protesting the Assad regime - including some of the heaviest fighting seen in suburbs of Damascus since the uprising began just over one year ago.

Given that the edit to remove the question came in the middle of the tape - and perfectly promotes the primary meme that Zimmerman's entire interest was based on race - for us to believe that it was 'not a deliberate act to misrepresent' pushes the realm of credibility.

Capus confirmed a previous Reuters report that an internal network investigation had determined that a producer made the editing error, and that the network's editorial controls - including senior broadcast producer oversight, script editors and often legal and standards department reviews of sensitive material to be broadcast - simply missed the selective editing of the phone call.

He said the producer has been fired and "several people" involved were disciplined, though he declined to specify the nature of the disciplinary actions, saying they were internal personnel matters.

There is far more to this story than Capus is indicating - and his easy dismissal of this as an 'editing error' makes him culpable in the effort to attack George Zimmerman and inflame public opinion.

CBS News legend Mike Wallace, the 60 Minutes' pit-bull reporter whose probing, brazen style made his name synonymous with the tough interview -- a style he practically invented for television more than half a century ago -- died last night. He was 93 and passed peacefully surrounded by family members at Waveny Care Center in New Canaan, Conn., where he spent the past few years. He also had a home in Manhattan.

"It is with tremendous sadness that we mark the passing of Mike Wallace. His extraordinary contribution as a broadcaster is immeasurable and he has been a force within the television industry throughout its existence. His loss will be felt by all of us at CBS," said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO, CBS Corporation.

Condolences to the Wallace family.

This Day in History

1935 - Congress votes to approve the Works Progress Administration (WPA) - a central part of FDR's New Deal program.

1945 - Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is hanged at Flossenburg, only days fore the American liberation of the camp. The last words of the brilliant and courageous 39-year-old opponent of Nazism were "This is the end--for me, the beginning of life."

1974 - Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's career home run record - hitting his 715th career home run.

About Me

I've been commenting on various blogs and subscription sites since early 2002 - adding my observations, thoughts, and musings on local, state, and national politics, national security, international relations, the economy, and other topics interest me. Until 2009, I was most active on LittleGreenFootballs before being driven off. Since then, I've been fighting idiotarians on BillOReilly.com and other sites...